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Some factors affecting performance of rats in the traveling salesman problem

Animal Cognition volume 18, pages 1207–1219 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

The traveling salesman problem (TSP) is used to measure the efficiency of spatial route selection. Among researchers in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, it has been utilized to examine the mechanisms of decision making, planning, and spatial navigation. While both human and non-human animals produce good solutions to the TSP, the solution strategies engaged by non-human species are not well understood. We conducted two experiments on the TSP using Long–Evans laboratory rats as subjects. The first experiment examined the role of arena walls in route selection. Rats tend to display thigmotaxis in testing conditions comparable to the TSP, which could produce results similar to a convex hull type strategy suggested for humans. The second experiment examined the role of turn angle between targets along the optimal route, to determine whether rats exhibit a preferential turning bias. Our results indicated that both thigmotaxis and preferential turn angles do affect performance in the TSP, but neither is sufficient as a predictor of route choice in this task.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA, 92110, USA

    C. Bellizzi, K. Goldsteinholm & R. E. Blaser

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  1. C. Bellizzi
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  2. K. Goldsteinholm
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  3. R. E. Blaser
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Correspondence to R. E. Blaser.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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10071_2015_890_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplementary Fig. 1 – The segments used to calculate H–H and I–I transitions in Experiment 1 are illustrated for Configurations 1-3.Supplementary Fig. 2 – Examples of the segments used to calculate H-I-H, I-H-I, H–H–H and H-I-I transitions in Experiment 2 are illustrated for Configurations 4 and 5. (PDF 43 kb)

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Bellizzi, C., Goldsteinholm, K. & Blaser, R.E. Some factors affecting performance of rats in the traveling salesman problem. Anim Cogn 18, 1207–1219 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0890-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0890-0

Keywords

  • Navigation
  • Cognition
  • Spatial
  • Optimization
  • Strategy
  • Planning